3 C'est la vie

We have 25 spelling words every week and for our Friday test, I make up a story with all the words. They usually end up being quite dramatic and a series of catastrophic events unfold. I will be 100% honest, since I make them up on the fly, they really make absolutely no sense, but my kids think they are the funniest/best stories they have ever heard and will always ask me, "wait, did this really happen?" No. The building all the teachers were in did not catch on fire and explode.

This last week's story, topped them all. It was about a 2 month old goldfish, Andy, who watched his delinquent teenage owner do delinquent teenage things all from his fishbowl. He'd seen a lot of things in his short life. The kids were on the edge of their seats and the tension was high as they waited for the conclusion of the story:

"And number 25 is paperweight. Then their neighbor saw Andy the fish sitting in his bowl on the white picket fence, threw a paperweight at him and his bowl tipped and Andy died. Paperweight."

"WHHHAT??! THE STORY CAN'T ENNND LIKE THAT! ANDY CAN'T DIE! But he was so young!"

"Guys, that's life. We reached word 25. I have no more words to give. And sometimes, your goldfish dies."

Then I overheard them telling some other 4th graders in the cafeteria that I made up a sad story. Too many Disney movies for these kids. They're now 9 years old and it's about time someone teaches them it's a tough, cruel world.